Billy The Kid (book)

Billy the Kid is the story of a boy who has a dream to become a professional footballer. The book was published in 2000 and was written by Michael Morpurgo. It is illustrated by Michael Foreman.

The story

Most of the book is set during World War II. Throughout the story, Billy, the main character, has to cope with a lot of sadness and loss. Whilst playing football in the local park, he is scouted by the club of his dreams: Chelsea FC. But his mood quickly changes when his brother dies in the war. This persuades Billy to join the army.

Inspiration for the book

The idea for the book came about when Michael Foreman took Michael Morpurgo to a Chelsea game and pointed out the Chelsea pensioners, who get free tickets for every game. Morpurgo was fascinated to learn that one pensioner chose to pay for his ticket still so he could sit with the same fans he did during his childhood.